I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 301 The Photo King, and Bulma's Fury

along the way.

Erii and Naruto seemed like two curious children; seeing a stall they'd never seen before, they wanted to go over and take a look. Erii even pulled a black credit card out of the pocket of her shrine maiden skirt, wanting to try and buy something, but was pulled back by Uchiha Hikaru with a helpless expression.

"...While it's good that you've learned to spend money, Erii, currencies from different worlds aren't interchangeable. Just tell me what you want, and I'll go buy it for you later."

"Naruto, you too, put that frog wallet away."

The common currency in the world of One Piece is the Beli.

Hikaru Uchiha didn't have much of this stuff; he only had some that he'd stolen from the previous pirate ships. Theoretically, Kaido and the Beast Pirates should have quite a bit, since they'd been involved in the arms trade with Doflamingo for years. But Hikaru Uchiha had already abducted Yamato and plundered all her money, which was a bit underhanded.

and so……

"Let Leone and the others check out the black market around here and get some gold and gems to sell..."

These things are hard currency in any world. And Uchiha Hikaru, who owns a mountain of gold, doesn't mind spending some of his own money.

After half a day.

The group stopped in front of an open-air restaurant, ordered some food and drinks, and prepared to replenish their energy.

At this time.

Bulma mentioned Ace briefly.

"Speaking of which, we've been here in Yamato for several days now. Shouldn't we help her investigate Ace's whereabouts? After all, he's Yamato's friend, and he's a pretty good person. If something happens to him after we arrived, Yamato will be very sad."

"Don't worry, I've already started investigating this."

Uchiha Hikaru took a bite of his steak and said casually, "We're currently in the year 1520 of the Sea Calendar, which is the year the manga started. If nothing unexpected happens, Luffy has already set sail, and Ace should be on his way to hunt down Blackbeard. There's still some time before the 'Marineford War' breaks out. As long as we find Whitebeard within the next two weeks, the situation will become clear."

"Hmm... but where is Whitebeard? The manga doesn't seem to mention where his territory is, does it?"

Bulma took out a copy of "One Piece" from her backpack and started reading it at the dining table.

Naruto, standing nearby, cast a curious glance at him.

And Esdeath.

As outsiders, although they had also traveled through worlds with Uchiha Hikaru, they were unaware that these worlds originated from anime and manga. Esdeath seemed to vaguely guess something, but didn't say anything, only clearing her throat slightly.

"Someone has been watching us for over an hour."

"Um??"

Bulma looked up in surprise, glanced around, and then fixed her gaze on Esdeath and Hikaru Uchiha, who was sitting next to her: "Hikaru, you..."

"Yes, I already knew that."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded slightly: "Go and invite the guest over, Ai. Just tell him we'd like to invite him for a cup of coffee."

"it is good."

Esdeath stood up in response and strode towards the outside of the restaurant.

A faint commotion arose.

Less than half a minute.

Then Esdeath turned around and casually tossed a man in a beige shirt and a top hat onto an empty chair on the side of the table, and then placed a camera on the table.

"What is this?"

"What we found on this guy," Esdeath said succinctly. "Looks like he's been following us and taking pictures for a long time. You can find photos of everyone in there."

"what?"

Bulma was surprised again. She grabbed the camera and looked at it for a while, then, as if she had thought of something, she looked down and started flipping through "One Piece".

half an hour.

The blue-haired girl looked up again, facing the man in the top hat, and said uncertainly, "You are... the Photography King?"

"?!"

The man in the top hat was nervously explaining that he was just an ordinary photography enthusiast who had gone out to photograph crowds as usual and happened to be photographing Uchiha Hikaru and his group. However, when Bulma revealed his identity, his eyes widened immediately, his voice filled with surprise and fear: "W-how do you know who I am?"

That's right.

The man in the top hat is indeed the famous photography king, known as the "Flame Photography Man".

In the original storyline of "One Piece", he was originally the head of the photography department of the Navy, responsible for taking photos of bounty posters. However, due to carelessness, he often forgot to open the lens cap of the camera, and was eventually fired by the Navy. He then joined Morgans' World Economic News as a reporter.

Since this guy is here, that means...

(Has the Straw Hat crew already experienced the Enies Lobby incident?)

In the brief moment that Uchiha Kō observed and analyzed in the darkness.

Bulma, having already identified him from the Photo King's reaction, angrily slammed her hand on the table: "So, you look so honest and kind, yet you do something as despicable as secretly taking pictures of girls! You're just like that lecherous old man, Master Roshi! And you even made me look so ugly in those pictures!"

"……ugly?"

"Isn't that right? Look at these photos, they look like they were taken by an amateur. And you call yourself the 'King of Photography'!"

Now.

Even the photographer couldn't sit still.

"You can say I have a bad character, but you can't question my skills! I'm the head of the photography department at Naval Headquarters, and a full-time photographer for the 'World Economic News Agency.' Nobody knows photography better than me!"

"Alright, I'll make you admit defeat today."

Bulma, filled with righteous indignation, moved a chair over and then, facing the camera, began arguing with the photographer.

What lighting, what focus, what composition...

Hikaru Uchiha couldn't understand a single word of these technical terms.

Esdeath, Erii, and Naruto were all completely bewildered.

but……

Uchiha Hikaru gradually realized what was going on: "Bulma, you wouldn't be thinking of...?"

"That's right."

Bulma nodded vigorously: "Photography King, I demand that you delete these photos immediately and retake them according to the requirements I just mentioned! Hmm... I have some professional lighting equipment on my ship. Let's go back to the ship and take the photos when Yamato and the others return."

Also, stop taking so many side profile and back view photos. They make you look sneaky and not at all cheerful.

"..."

The photographer was speechless.

The technological level of the One Piece world is naturally incomparable to that of Dragon Ball. And Bulma, as a genius girl with exceptional intelligence and a touch of narcissism, is undoubtedly skilled in photography. Therefore, their brief exchange just now had already convinced him.

but……

He's clearly a paparazzi, a profession that has absolutely nothing to do with "sunshine." When he's taking photos of wanted pirates, he's often discovered and hunted down by them.

Now someone is actually inviting him to film on a boat?

Are there really pirates like this?

It was clear that the photo king was already confused by what Bulma had said.

Uchiha Hikaru coughed at this moment and asked about the origin of the Photography King.

As a former naval officer, the photographer is very discreet and speaks cautiously.

However, Hikaru Uchiha's intelligence network far surpassed his own, possessing almost complete knowledge of his background. Therefore, he quickly extracted some crucial information from him through indirect means.

Just as she guessed, the Luffy crew had already experienced the Enies Lobby incident.

Based on the timeline of the original work, they are probably on their way to Thriller Bark Delta, after which they will defeat Gecko Moria, then travel to the Sabaody Archipelago to fight the Celestial Dragons, and be sent flying to Amazon Lily by Bartholomew Kuma, thus beginning the rescue of Ace.

"……fine."

Uchiha Hikaru secretly calculated for a moment and felt that he had enough time.

If all goes well, she might even be able to take Esdeath to the Sabaody Archipelago to join in the fun and see what a Marine Admiral is all about.

……

That evening.

Yamato, Kikyo, Brand, and others arrived at the town center one after another and met up with Uchiha Hikaru and his group as agreed.

At this point, the photographer was already extremely uncomfortable.

no way.

While others were manageable, the murderous aura emanating from Esdeath was far too intense for ordinary people. Especially since his act of secretly photographing Uchiha Hikaru had greatly displeased Esdeath, making her seem to be deliberately targeting him. If it weren't for the fact that the "Photography King" had years of experience dealing with pirates from all over the world and possessed exceptional mental fortitude, she probably would have wet herself by now.

"Alright, everyone's here."

Bulma clapped her hands: "Let me first give you a warm introduction. This is the professional photographer that Hikari and I have invited. He will be taking individual photos and group photos of our 'Dimensional Pirates.' Please give him a warm welcome!"

clap clap-

Unaware of the truth and with simple-minded personalities, Yuujin Itadori and Tanjiro were the first to applaud.

Yamato and Niya quickly followed, clapping their hands with a deafening roar.

Finally, there were Kikyo and the others, who seemed a little lost.

Amidst enthusiastic applause, the photographer hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped:

"Um, actually I am..."

"Don't be shy, we're all family here."

Bulma patted Photo King on the shoulder, then, seeing the latter's sweaty expression, turned to Kikyo and the others and said:

"When you get back later, everyone should take a shower and change your clothes, dress nicely. If anyone needs a new hairstyle, you can go get a haircut first. I just saw a hair salon over there... Since we have this rare opportunity, even if it takes a little longer, we must take the best photos!"

"..."

At this moment.

The photographer finally realized that he had indeed boarded a pirate ship.

Pirates capable of performing astonishing feats on the Grand Line...

They all seemed to have some serious illness...

(End of this chapter)